For You
by AquaAurion
Summary: "You know I love you, right?" Gokudera tried to smile at him, wincing as the cut on his lip started bleeding again. There really was no way out of this Yamamoto realized. Those seldom spoken words coming from Gokudera confirmed what he was beginning to fear. That he had given up, that his brilliant mind could no longer find a way for them to get out of this alive.
1. The Fall

"Haha, looks like we're pretty screwed." Yamamoto tried to keep his tone light, despite the seriousness of the situation. "Right, Hayato?" He turned to look at his silent partner, taking in his haggard appearance.

They were standing on top of the high wall encircling the enemy base, their men long since lost to the chaos far below. Agonized screams tore through the air as the ones still alive met their demise. It would not be long until they were discovered and neither one of them would be able to put up any fight without gambling their lives. They had both been drained from the blood oozing out from the cuts littering their bodies and the way Gokudera was putting more weight on one leg told him there was no chance of running. Not that Yamamoto would be able to do that anyway. In addition to all the cuts and bruises he had a deep gash on his chest that burned with each breath he took. Every muscle in his body was trembling from exhaustion, the only reason he was still standing being his determination to stay alive.

"You know I love you, right?" Gokudera tried to smile at him, wincing as the cut on his lip started bleeding again. There really was no way out of this Yamamoto realized. Those seldom spoken words coming from Gokudera confirmed what he was beginning to fear. That he had given up, that his brilliant mind could no longer find a way for them to get out of this alive.

"Of course." Although Gokudera rarely told him he always knew. Actions did speak louder than words after all. "I love you too." He received another smile, less strained this time. Gokudera's eyes flicked to the side, gazing down at the ground behind them, as if he was calculating something.

"Do you trust me, Takeshi?" Gokudera took a few limping steps so that he stood in front of him, determined eyes meeting Yamamoto's. The look on the Italian's face told him that there was a plan brewing in his mind after all and that he was contemplating the consequences of it.

"With my life." Suddenly lips pressed against his in a desperate kiss, hands sliding up his chest. Before he had a chance to react, those hands pushed him back with surprising strength. Yamamoto stumbled backwards, feet meeting nothing but air. He yelped in shock as he fell, panic surging through his body. The last thing he saw was Gokudera turning away, towards the battle, red flames lighting up his arm.

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Lately I have been in a KHR mood and have started writing fanfiction again! I was writing on another, much longer, 8059 story when this popped into my head.

It was originally going to be a oneshot, but it felt better to divide it into parts, so there will be two more chapters!


	2. Realization

A longer chapter this time. The first one ended up looking way shorter here than in Word, because I had forgotten how wide ff-stories end up being.

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It was not the first time he woke up in the hospital. Probably not the last one either. At least that was where he thought he was. Yamamoto groaned as pain tore through his battered limbs.

"Yamamoto?" a soft, almost disbelieving voice rang through the air. It was familiar, but for a moment he could not place who it belonged to. Willing his eyes to open, he located the source of the sound. Tsuna was standing by the side of his bed – so he was in the hospital after all – tear-filled and bloodshot eyes watching him cautiously. The dark bags beneath those usually clear eyes witnessed of many sleepless nights.

"Wha-" A painful cough erupted from his chest, sending trembles through his body. Yamamoto gasped for air, waiting until his breathing calmed before making another attempt. "What happened?" his voice came out strained and raspy.

"We thought you wouldn't make it." Tsuna sniffed and then tears were streaming down his face. "When we arrived with backup the whole place was going up in flames. Then when we found you we thought it was already too late…" Tsuna's words were barely more than a whisper, threatening to break at any moment. "They said it was a miracle you survived the fall. Had it been any higher you would have been crushed."

"I feel pretty crushed now." Yamamoto let out an empty chuckle, wincing from the pain brought from it. He saw the corner of Tsuna's mouth twitch slightly, but there was no mirth in his eyes. He wondered when he had fallen though. The last thing he remembered was standing on top of the wall with Gokudera and then – "Hayato!" He tried to sit up, but Tsuna's hands held him back with a firm grip. "What happened to Hayato?!" He thought he saw pain flash through Tsuna's eyes before the other averted his gaze.

"Hold him still." There was a nurse by his side fiddling with a syringe. Had she been there the whole time? His body relaxed and sunk back into the mattress. Yamamoto opened his mouth to speak, but his words came slurred and he could feel his eyelids starting to droop.

When he awoke Tsuna was standing by his side again, looking slightly more composed this time. There was a chair pulled up next to the bed and Yamamoto guessed that his friend had been sitting there, waiting for him to regain consciousness. Tsuna was eyeing him wearily and took a step closer.

"Please, Yamamoto, just be careful and try not to do anything rash." Yamamoto nodded, slowly sitting up and leaning against the headrest. The movement left a searing pain in his chest in its wake, causing him to bite down hard on his lip and groan. Ignoring the worried eyes that followed each of his movements, Yamamoto repositioned himself. He looked straight into Tsuna's eyes, determined to get an answer to his question.

"Look, Tsuna… It's not going to hurt less because tell me later." Tsuna's gaze dropped down to the bed as if he was struggling to keep his composure. "How bad is it? Is he conscious?" the other male flinched as if he had been hit and Yamamoto felt a numbing sensation spread from his chest. "Does… does it look like he will wake up soon?"

"He won't wake up." Tsuna's words came out flat, almost inaudible. Yamamoto stared at him incredulously, rage building up within him at the defeated tone. How could Tsuna give up so easily?

"You can't just decide that!" His voice came out sounding almost like a snarl and Tsuna's eyes darted up to meet his, a stunned expression written across his features. "How do you know he won't?! This is Hayato we're talking about!"

"Yamamoto." Tsuna's voice was firm, silencing him immediately. "It took hours before we could find him." A hand flew up to cover Tsuna's eyes and he stood there for a moment, taking deep breaths before continuing. "It looked like he had put up quite a fight, and probably set the mansion on fire too, determined to take them down with him. _Gosh_ , there was… there was hardly anything left but rubble of the building and there were bodies _everywhere_. He was still inside when the whole thing came down, but Shamal said that he probably was gone before the roof caved in."

"Haha, sorry Tsuna, what did you say?" Yamamoto was sure he had seen Tsuna's mouth moving, but those words must have been his imagination. "I must have misheard you, but for a moment I thought I heard you said something strange." Something crazy. Something that could not possibly be true. They were talking about Gokudera here, the right hand man of the Vongola family. He had to be there to protect Tsuna, because that was what the right hand man did.

So why was he crying? Yamamoto tentatively touched his cheek and looked at his trembling hand, just to make sure he was not imagining. Why would he be crying? There was no need to be crying. He had just misheard Tsuna's words. Something must have affected his hearing, because he had just heard the most ridiculous thing coming from his friend's lips. He looked expectantly at Tsuna, waiting for him to repeat his words. Any second now and he would grant him a small chuckle and tell him again and this time Yamamoto would hear what he actually said.

"Takeshi." Tsuna sank down onto the chair and let out a deep sigh that echoed of defeat. He reached out, his hands grasping one of Yamamoto's. Strange. Tsuna's hands were shaking just as much as his. It was almost as if he had not misheard at all. But that could not be. Tsuna was going to open his mouth and tell him that Gokudera was lying in the other room, probably cursing about having to be confined to bed. Tsuna drew a long breath, sounding almost as if he was choking. As if he was about to cry. Why would he not just tell him that Gokudera was fine? Because he had to be. There was no way that Gokudera was not fine. "He's dead."

Yamamoto had to be dreaming, because Tsuna kept on sprouting nonsense. He would wake up any minute now, because this was not real. The pain coursing through his body was not real and the tears staining his cheeks were not real. Just like the hollow, frantic laughter that echoed through the room was not real and it was not pouring from his own lips, because such a hideous sound could not be coming from him.

"He's dead." Tsuna crumbled before him, sobs drowning out all other sounds. And Yamamoto was crying to, because Tsuna's words did not change. Because he had not misheard him. Because Tsuna would not be repeating those words if they were not true and Tsuna would not be crying if they had nothing to cry over.

Because it was not a dream.

* * *

I've never written anything like this before and hope I managed to convey some of the emotion at least.

A little warning for the next chapter: It will feature a very non-living Gokudera, so if that isn't your cup of tea, please consider this as the final chapter.


	3. Confrontation

For some reason this part was a lot harder for me to write. It didn't quite turn out the way I had intended, but I hope you guys enjoy (?) it.

* * *

Gokudera looked like he was sleeping. Yamamoto stood by the bedside and stared at him as Tsuna quietly slipped out of the room, wondering if he had ever seen the storm guardian this peaceful before.

"H-hayato?" his hand trembled as it hovered above Gokudera and he swallowed heavily, trying to ease the numb feeling radiating from his chest. Could he touch him? He was not sure whether one was supposed to do that. Hesitantly he let it slide against the silver locks, sweeping away the strands that had fallen upon Gokudera's brow and cheeks.

They had cleaned him up, but had done nothing to hide the bruises and cuts covering his fair skin. Gokudera would not have wanted them to do that. He had cared greatly about his looks, being a little vain even, but he had been proud of the scars he had received. Each mark showing the perils he had overcome while serving as a guardian of the Vongola. Each of them symbolized his desire to protect, not only Tsuna, but the other guardians as well as the men who risked their lives for him.

He let his hand linger for a moment, unsure what to do. The skin had turned sickly pale now, intensifying the darkened bruises. Gently he brushed his fingertips against Gokudera's cheek, only to recoil in shock. _Cold_. He was so cold. Yamamoto's felt his knees give in, slamming brutally against the floor. A strangled sob escaped from the depth of his throat as he slumped against the bed.

"I-I'm sorry, Hayato." Shaking fingers reached out again, this time trailing softly across the Italian's features. "I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry." His vision became blurry and he blinked feverishly, trying to get rid of the tears threatening to spill. Yamamoto brought his other hand to his face, wiping them away with his sleeve. "I was just a little surprised, that's all." He had known. He had told himself that it would be like this. Still, the feeling of it being _wrong_ lingered. He knew it was the Italian lying there, no matter how much he wished for it to be untrue. Despite this, his hands would not stop shaking, because that was _not_ what touching Gokudera felt like.

"What are we supposed to do without you?" the question came out as nothing more than a whisper. Yamamoto let his head rest on the blanket and simply watched the other, waiting for an answer he knew would never come. Instead he kept on caressing Gokudera's cheek, letting the tears stream freely down his own. "Who's going to be Tsuna's right hand man now?" he heard his own voice breaking, but could not stop the words from spilling. "You know I can't do it." He tried to laugh, laugh the way he usually would when trying to lighten the mood, but the sound that came out was dull and lifeless. "Tsuna told me that you wanted me to take over if anything were to happen to you…" he retracted his hand and shifted his gaze to the sheets. "I know I used to joke about it, but how am I supposed to do that without you? You were supposed to be here by my side and scold me and yell at me when I messed up." He attempted another chuckle, but it left his lips as nothing more than a whimper. "What am _I_ supposed to do without you?"

For a moment Yamamoto simply sat there, staring at the sheets. "Why did you have to be so selfish?" his fingers dug deep into the fabric, curling around it until his knuckles turned white. "Why didn't you let me die with you?!" His agonized scream echoed through the room, drowning out the sound of his tears falling onto the bed. "W-why didn't you let me?!" Yamamoto knew he was not being fair, but right now he could not care less. "Why, Hayato, why?" His words morphed into sobs and he clutched the sheet to his chest as the tremors overtook his body.

"You know, I would have done anything for you, Hayato…" his words were muffled against the fabric, but he had no strength to lift his head. "I wanted to be by your side no matter what. Even if we stood no chance I would have wanted to be by your side." Would they have made it if he too had been fighting? He would never learn the answer to that now. "Just being by your side would have been enough." But he knew that had he seen a way to save the other guardian he would have done so without any hesitation. Just like Gokudera had done. Even if it meant having him go through the same pain as he was experiencing now. Because he would have been _alive_. "I would have done anything."

"Anything for you."


End file.
